Can i get rechargeable AA's to work with my X30?

[nuka_t]

i saw a mod of a palm zire here where someone replaced the battery with some rechargeable ones. im not going to do anything like that, but i do want to use some rechargeables on it. the included battery is 950mAH, whereas a single AA is 2100mAH. if you have an X3x, you would know that it comes with two little things to connect it to the charger with. one is just a regular adapter, and the other is an adapter, but it also has a USB cable coming out ot it. i want to use the non-USB adapter and hook it up to some AA's so i can recharge it on the go. BUT(there is always a but), the output of the charger 5.4v. each AA(or any other battery for that matter) is 1.5v. so my options are 4 AA's with 6v and 8,400mAH or 3AA's with 4.5v and 6,300mAH. either mAH is fine, i just want to know what will happen if the voltage is too low or too high. dont want to ruin my baby :oops:. oh, and buying a high capacity 2000 mAH niMH batter is not an option as it wont fit in the case then, not to mention it costs 80 bucks.

[Maced]

Voltage too low = Probably wont run
Voltage too high = Probably don't wanna know what'd happen (it would most likely fry if it was too high)

You're going to need a resistor if your battery output voltage is higher than that of the axim battery (3.7v) *needs to finish dinner*

[Sven Johannsen]

There are numerous commercial items that are built for just this purpose. A nice one is at http://www.pocketpctechs.com/detail.asp?product_ID=USB-BATADPT01 . It even has regulating circuitry to compensate for differing battery types and discharge rates.

Incidentally 4 batteries in series to get you four time the voltage doesn't get you four times the maH. It's the same as one. Four batteries in parallel gives you four times the maH but just one batteries worth of voltage. If you didn't know that, maybe you should let someone build the box for you, before you burn something up ;)

[nuka_t]

well thats why i asked. ive never done anything like this before, but the 4 hourish battery life is too short for me.

that lil sync thing looks cool. i dont get what the USB cable is for though :?:

[nuka_t]

oh, reread the description. now i know what the USB is for :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

thats gonna cost me 30 bucks total, unless i can use the included dell usb cable?

[Sven Johannsen]

Unfortunately I don't think you can use the Dell cable. Note that the end that goes into the X30, has a socket for the power adapter. The cable doesn't bring power from the USB end, which it would need to do to use the PPCTechs thing. What the other thing is from PPCTechs is a Sync and Charge cable. There are lots of them around. The one that PPCTechs sells is nice and one of several brands that roll up like that. You can get just a plain cable with a USB on one und and either an X30 connector or a coaxial connector that would fit into that little X30 adapter that is used if you ar just wanting to charge.

Actually the Sync and Charge cable isn't a bad investment if you have a laptop and travel at all.

A couple of other options are
http://www.earthv.com/articles.asp?ArticleID=474
and
http://www.data-nation.com/ (Slim iPowerPak II)

Note the Data-Nation one is about as expensive, but the connector you see does fit into the X30 adapter, and it has a USB port that would work with a SyncNCarge cable.

[nuka_t]

im so going to do the DIY one. i just realized that my rechargeable batteries were 1.2v :oops:, so thats a total 4.6v, which is perfect. an extra .1v shouldnt hurt anything. im still mad that 4 2100mAH's dont add up to 8400mAH. :( :wink:

one other thing, i dont have a soldering iron(although i know how to use one, and if push came to shove i could be able to get access to one), can i just wrap the wire around the "thingy" and use a hot glue gun instead?

[Sven Johannsen]

i dont have a soldering iron(although i know how to use one, and if push came to shove i could be able to get access to one), can i just wrap the wire around the "thingy" and use a hot glue gun instead?

You're joking? I hope you're joking 8O You ought to add up all that stuff you got to buy at Rat Shack. Bet you come up to over half what buying one would cost :wink:

[frankenbike]

I've got one of those cheap ($9 including shipping) 4AA nonregulated chargers from Ebay.

As mentioned, with NiMH batteries, the voltage is perfect. With Alkalines, however, it's well over 6v. I didn't feel like risking it, so I got a 1/4" bolt and a cap nut and stick it where one of the batteries would go, and I get 4.8 volts out of it. Just like 4 NiMH batteries.

You can carry a lot of Alkalines for the space a quick NiMH charger takes up. Plus they're available everywhere. Bonus: the 3 alky arrangements means you use fewer of them.

BTW, the AC adaptor that comes with the Axim is unregulated. I checked the output voltage with a DVOM and it was over 6v, but only a tiny amount. The alkies were putting out 6.6 volts. I've heard of problems with that high a voltage, though only when the Axim's built in battery is fully charged. But it's kind of hard to keep an eye on the battery meter. It does charge the battery really fast though ;)

I've kinda thought about making a 3-D cell battery extender. Can you imagine how long you could run an Ax on 3 alkaline Ds?

[nuka_t]

i dont have a soldering iron(although i know how to use one, and if push came to shove i could be able to get access to one), can i just wrap the wire around the "thingy" and use a hot glue gun instead?

You're joking? I hope you're joking 8O You ought to add up all that stuff you got to buy at Rat Shack. Bet you come up to over half what buying one would cost :wink:

i did it, and it worked. gluegun and all. :mrgreen:

[frankenbike]

i dont have a soldering iron(although i know how to use one, and if push came to shove i could be able to get access to one), can i just wrap the wire around the "thingy" and use a hot glue gun instead?

You're joking? I hope you're joking 8O You ought to add up all that stuff you got to buy at Rat Shack. Bet you come up to over half what buying one would cost :wink:

i did it, and it worked. gluegun and all. :mrgreen:

Pictures! I want to see Pictures!

[Sven Johannsen]

i dont have a soldering iron(although i know how to use one, and if push came to shove i could be able to get access to one), can i just wrap the wire around the "thingy" and use a hot glue gun instead?

You're joking? I hope you're joking 8O You ought to add up all that stuff you got to buy at Rat Shack. Bet you come up to over half what buying one would cost :wink:

i did it, and it worked. gluegun and all. :mrgreen:

Pictures! I want to see Pictures!

I don't think I could look. Hot glueing electrical connections together...my eyes...my eyes 8O